John J. Young Jr. was born in Wheeling on May 23, 1929, and became fascinated by trains while growing up in Wheeling, through which the Baltimore and Ohio passed. He worked for the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railroad before moving to Binghamton, NY, in 1959, where he worked teaching photography. After retiring from the Broome Technical Community College in Binghamton in 1995, he relocated to Charleston, where he continued his life-long hobby of photographing trains. After his death on November 27, 2004, the West Virginia State Archives received his bequest of his Wheeling and Charleston-area railroad negatives, from which the following images are taken.
The Rail of Two Cities exhibit was on display in the Archives and History Photo Gallery between November 2013 and January 2014.
 | Photograph, J. J. Young (left) with an unidentified trainman, circa 1948. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, President Dwight D. Eisenhower entering the waiting room of the B&O station, Wheeling, September 24, 1952. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, President Dwight D. Eisenhower accepting a key to the City of Wheeling, surrounded by a crowd in the B&O depot, September 24, 1952. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Wreckage of a B&O train at Benwood, sometime after 1953. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus train advertising car #1 moving to the next stop. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Pair of ex-Buffalo, Rochester and Pittsburgh Q-10 2-8-2s wheel Pittsburgh 104 across Wheeling Creek en route east #4738, undated. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Trainman pulls whistle for standing brake test on train #72 while teachers and school patrol students board extra train at Wheeling for Washington, DC, April 1950. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O P-7 #5300 swings off old main line past Moundsville depot with train #43/44 en route to Wheeling. This Moundsville depot played important role in the movie "Fools' Parade". The Ohio River Line is to the right of station, November 1952. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O P-7 #5308 on train #245 at night, Wheeling, February 1950. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O P1D #5091 at Wheeling Creek. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O P1D #5085 and 5091 on train #38, Wheeling, December 1952. This photograph was published in B&O Power Magazine. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Nickel Plate Railroad #6403, built 1937, scrapped 1961. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O coach #4661 at Wheeling Station. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O Q-4 #416 eases through Wheeling Station and up 17th Street with work train en route to tunnel #1, February 1957. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Iron City Beer billboard with pretty girl, probably in Wheeling area. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O P-7 4-6-2 #5300 at Wheeling Station. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O P-7 4-6-2 #5314 and P-6 4-6-2 #5237 at Wheeling Station. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O passenger train on the loop at Benwood. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Wheeling and Lake Erie shops at Brewster, Ohio. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O EL-3a #7134 on eastbound piker exiting tunnel #1 at Wheeling Junction during snowstorm, January 1948. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O P-1a #5082 on #78 highballs (boiler pressure at highest level) past Elm Grove depot, 1946. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Passengers on platform at Wheeling Station. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Cincinnatian locomotive on display, ca. 1947. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Dailey Brothers Circus train with camels. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Freedom train on PRR at today's Wheeling Heritage Port, 1947. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, President Harry Truman on campaign swing through Wheeling for Adlai Stevenson, October 23, 1952. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Pap Tuner lifts transportation on B&O's #73 en route to Parkersburg, August 1954. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Streamlined Pennsylvania Railroad T-1 #5516, Wheeling. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O #6044. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, B&O EM-1 on "Holloway Humper" about to leave Benwood, September 1953. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, J. J. Young holding his Mamiya C220, sitting on the swing on the front porch of his Charleston home, circa 2000. Photo by Michael Keller. West Virginia Division of Culture and History |
 | Photograph, CSX #1837 yard slug (used for switching when paired with diesel-electric engine) painted with Marshall University graphics, Huntington, August 2000. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus train at capitol, Charleston, April 2001. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Passengers beside Amtrak #51, Charleston, July 1997. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Interview with actor Bob Denver and his wife Dreama at the levee by WOWK-TV during the Sternwheel Regatta, Charleston, August 1997. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Numerous boats docked at the levee on Kanawha River during a Sternwheel Regatta. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Engineer "checking orders" inside cab of engine, April 1996. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey circus moving animals beside circus train parked at Farmers Market, Charleston, April 1996. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, CRSG crossing job #2, location unknown, November 1996. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Norfolk Southern coal cars at tipple, East Lynn, June 1998. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, C&O train with caboose passing the University of Charleston campus, with capitol in the background across river, Charleston, June 1998. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Conrail passing under wooden trestle near Belva, Fayette County, July 1998. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Whipple company store, built about 1900 with its distinctive octagonal shape, September 1998. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Chalk signboard outside Thurmond Post Office, September 1998. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Chevron gasoline station with CSX #280 passing in background, St. Albans, March 1999. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Barbershop with view of CSX track work equipment at St. Albans, April 1999. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Conrail #5457 and #8488, Conrail #6419, Union Pacific 977 engines, April 1999. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Illinois Central #3133 with Operation Lifesaver logo, April 1999. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Spraywashing the C&O depot, St. Albans, May 1999. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Southern Pacific engines passing power plant, August 1999. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |
 | Photograph, Dunbar central fire station, across Dunbar Avenue from the Norfolk and Western tracks. J. J. Young Collection, West Virginia State Archives |